Being sensible and being clever isn’t necessarily the same thing, as ably demonstrated by the Skoda Roomster

The sensible solution to creating a car flexible and spacious enough to cope with all manner of family life would be to create a great big box. But the Skoda has other ideas.

First introduced in 2007, the Roomster is a totally different take on the family vehicle problem and does so by being a car with a split personality.

From the outside the Roomster is unquestionably an unusual-looking car.

The front end has the Skoda family grille and the big bold headlights to give it an appealing expression, and while the rear is more practically-minded it has a chunky solidity to it.

Slide into the driver’s seat and the view out is superb thanks to the big windscreen and the slightly raised driving position.

It feels built to last, and although it’s not brimming with luxuries it has all the things you need as standard, like air conditioning, rear parking sensors, remote central locking, alloy wheels and a panoramic sunroof.

But the Roomster’s ace in the hole is in the back. There are three seats so they can be slid forward and backwards to adjust the amount of legroom and boot space. The middle seat can also fold to create a table, or be removed altogether. The outer seats can be taken out to give a huge van-like 1,780 litre boot.

And don’t think that all this MPV-like practicality means it handles like a bus either. The modern 1.6-litre diesel unit offers a useful blend of performance and economy.